Moto G coming to Republic Wireless ift.tt/1cClLzl Republic Wireless now offers the Moto G, with prices starting at $149 for the phone and $5 for no-contract service. (Credit: Republic Wireless) Republic Wireless made waves late last year with its $299 Moto X smartphone and dirt-cheap no-contract service plans. Now the company plans to lower the cost of entry with a less expensive handset. Starting in April, Republic will offer the Motorola Moto G (8GB) for $149 and Moto G (16GB) for $179. These replace the companys previous entry-level phone, the decidedly outdated Defy XT. Motorola first unveiled the Moto G in December, offering it as an affordable alternative to the popular Moto X. With a starting price of $179, the unlocked phone was initially available in US and global GSM versions. Republics model leverages CDMA technology to run on Sprints network. However, like its GSM counterparts, the Moto G tops out at 3G speeds. Consequently, Republic will offer three service plans to the Moto Xs four, with the top one ($25 monthly) offering unlimited calling, texting, and data. The $5/month plan gives you unlimited everything, but only when youre connected to Wi-Fi, while the $10 plan adds cellular service for calls and texts (but no data; for that you still need Wi-Fi). Like all Republics phones, this one relies on hybrid communications, meaning it leverages available Wi-Fi networks whenever possible for calls and text messages, switching to cellular only when theres no Wi-Fi available. As with the Moto X, youre buying the phone outright -- but because its specially coded to work on Republics network, you cant use it with any other carrier. Similarly, the Moto G will not initially support short-code text messaging, though Republic Wireless is working on adding this capability. The Moto G features a 4.5-inch, 720p display, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, and, unlike the Moto X, a removable backplate that affords access to the battery. (You can jazz up the phone by swapping backplates, which are available from Motorola in various colors.) Although the G originally came with Android 4.3, Republics model will ship with 4.4 (KitKat). Republic will start selling the Moto G next month, though an exact date has yet to be announced. Related Links:Hands-on with Republic Wireless, one month laterThe one real problem with Republic WirelessMotorolas new Moto X coming this summer?UppWireless offers $15 BYOD phone serviceMotorola wants in on the smartwatch game, too -- and soon
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 19:50:15 +0000